Unforgettable books

I visited the doctor today, and as always we got to talking about the books we have been reading/listening to. There are now two books that I keep on telling people to read, one is The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell. This book I keep on recommending, with the words "It is a most awful book, with horrible scenes in it, but well worth reading." Why would I recommend a book that I use that sentence with? Due to the different perspective it gives, and the explanations of behaviour and understanding of how people can be so horrible, and the effect on them. The book is presented as a memoir of a German officers experiences in the war. He seems to be undergoing a long mental breakdown during the book, but it takes you through various theatres of the war, with the SS, and showing the killing carried out of civilian populations, and Jews. I read it a year and a quarter ago, and it still has me thinking back to it.
The second book is translated from Swedish and brings a smile to my face thinking about it. It is the opposite of the first one, a farcical book in some of the events through it, but written with such good humour that I laughed a lot through it. My husband did not laugh as much as he read it, but he also enjoyed it. The title: "The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared." by Jonas Jonasson. It was such a stupid story, but that was what made it so enjoyable, for the way it was constructed kept me reading. In fact I read it over one weekend, which for me is unusual.
So two books that are staying with me, one that was horrid and the other which was enjoyable and lifted my mood.